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Sullustan
Average Height: 1.4 meters Average Lifespan: 75 years Short, with huge dark eyes and large jowl-flaps, large lips, and even larger rounded ears, the Sullustan people are anything but intimidating. Despite, or perhaps because of, their slight build and fragile physiology, Sullustans are some of the quickest little sentients in the galaxy, scurrying about on their tree-fingered hands and feet with alarming speed when they sense danger. Fortunately for the Sullustan people, they don't have to do nearly so much scurrying anymore. Their home world of Sullust has been free of all but the most innocuous crime for generations. This lack of crime has much to do with the ethos and character of the Sullustan people who, although technically not citizens of the Republic, might well be found in any Republic dictionary definition of the word 'civilized.' Their culture is centered around a strong sense of custodianship-- both of their home world, their people, and all reasonable live-and-let-live sentients in the galaxy. Their love of nature has kept the Sullustan people in touch with the many and varied environs of the galaxy, while their love of security and high civilization has fostered a technically inclined populace, never wasteful, and always innovative. Biology and Appearance A diminutive species, Sullustans ranged from 1 to 1.8 meters in height and bore round, tapered skulls. Sullustans were distinguishable for their almond-shaped black eyes, facial jowls called dewflaps and large, round ears. Their wide earlobes provided excellent hearing, and their large eyes provided exceptional low-light vision. Sullustans could see up to 20 meters in the dark without being sensitive to infrared, meaning they could effectively read and see normally with no light at all. Perhaps due to their relative lack of exposure to natural light, Sullustans began to suffer from corneal defects after 30 standard years. After significant deterioration, many chose to wear special visors to prevent further damage. Some Sullustans tattooed their heads as a form of individual expression. Sullustans were pink-skinned and (for the most part) hairless, although white facial hair does occur, though it is rare. Cranial hair is unknown. Hair is also a symbol of individuality and is worn in a manner helping to express this. Mentally, Sullustans possessed exceptional intuition, with many able to navigate a path after seeing a map only once. This ability extended to sublight and hyperspace navigation. Society and Culture Sullustans are outgoing and mercantile, friendly and pragmatic. As a species they were altogether lacking in xenophobia. Though fond of practical jokes and extremely shrewd in their business dealings, they were eager to explore and travel the galaxy. Inquisitive by nature, some have described Sullustans as reckless, especially for their preference to learn and discover whenever possible through personal experience. Sullustans organized themselves into familial units known as Warren-clans. Each clan consisted of one polyandrous female, several husbands and their young. Unmated females, known as "Fems", were active members of their communities until they reached the status of "Ready" which marked their breeding years. At the outset of Ready, "Fems" chose their mates and founded their own Warren-clans. Few Sullustans left their home world, but those that did often found employment as pilots or merchants. Inspired by legends like Mayjeln, Sullustan spacers put their skills as navigators to use and were prized crewers across the galaxy. Because of this, their flowing, staccato language of Sullustese was known to many smugglers. Sullustan names were often direct translations from Sullustese words and typically consisted of a given name and surname of four letters each. Burial rites were given particular focus in Sullustan culture, with vast crypts and vaults maintained by crypt masters. Death, known as "Eternal Sleep", was viewed with great reverence. The most important of these rites as the Tomb-walling Ceremony, an elaborate funeral procedure. Important leaders and famous Sullustans were entombed in the Gallery of Ancients and the Catacomb of Eminents. Governmentally, Sullustan names referencing nobility is evidence of some form of monarchy, but all recorded history demonstrates the use of democracy. Sullustans are also dedicated to the principles of capitalism and open markets, but were primarily motivated by the possibility of bettering their people, not greed. Sullust's technologically advanced underground cities bristled with shops and markets attracting tourists from across the galaxy. Sullustan Spiritualism The spiritualism of the Sullustan society is polytheistic, meaning there is more than one god or, in this case, spirit. Older religious texts indicate the pantheon had hundreds of spirits guiding or interfering with the everyday life of the citizens of Sullust. However, over time most of the spirits with similar characteristics were combined and their names becoming unused. Today, only six members of the original pantheon remain. Temples and alters to the spirits dot the landscape of Sullust's surface, many of the temples are little more than ruins as the spirits fell out of spiritual favor as Sullustan spiritualism evolved with the continued discovery of the galaxy. The presence of these ruins indicate that the Sullustans originally dwelt on the surface of Sullust at one point in their far distant past, since there are only temples of the six remaining spirits found in modern-day Sullustan cities. Pantheon of Spirits Many theological scholars find the Sullustan pantheon extraordinarily interesting. Throughout its evolution, all the gods were male and female twins or mirrors of each other. The female normally represented the characteristics associated with good behavior and the male normally represented that characters associated with evil behavior. It goes a long way into helping understand Sullustan gender and familial relations. Usually one or multiple males are attached to a singular, powerful female. One female, based on the power granted by the spirits, was able to check the power of spiritually weaker males. There is also a special spiritual place given to twins, which are highly rare. Ting and Tang Ting is the spirit of motherhood. The oldest of the spirits, origin unknown, the mother of the galaxy. The genesis story of Sullust originally places Ting as the neuter galaxy. To create life, Ting split into two creating a twin. Ting chose the conscience of a female and her new twin, Tang, the male conscience. She is associated with female fertility. Being all knowing and enlightened has her associated the characteristic of wisdom. Tang is the spirit of fatherhood. He is the twin detached by Ting to help create life in the galaxy. He is associated with male fertility. Due to being younger than Ting, Tang is constantly pursuing new knowledge and is quick to absorb new information, thus associated with the characteristic of intelligence. Ting and Tang had two sets of twins, Jing-Jang and Ning-Nang, to create life in the galaxy. Originally, it was just the creation story of the galaxy. However, over time and as Sullustans explored the galaxy, the genesis story was modified to include the creation of the entire galaxy. After creating the galaxy, Ting and Tang gave the galaxy to their children and their children's children to run and no longer take an active part in the everyday matters of the galaxy. Jing and Jang Jing is the spirit of life. She is the first born twin of Ting and Tang, the older twin of Jang. Jing represents the changing seasons, life, the sun or light, peace, earth and water. Originally, Jing gave many of her traits to her female children and lesser spirits. The millenia of evolution in the theology has returned all those attributes back to Jing and the memory/celebration of her children died away. Jang is the spirit of death. Jang was the second born twin of Ting and Tang, the younger twin of Jing. Jang represents disease, night, war, fire, wind, and the undead. Like Jing, Jang gave many of his traits to his male children and lesser spirits, but they were returned to him and his children lost to history. Jing and Jang are generally passive spirits. Their demands and desires for the galaxy are only influenced by great events. Often, their events are spurred by Jang attempting to overthrow his twin's domain through a pandemic disease, solar/lunar eclipses, great fires, etc. Ning and Nang Ning is the spirit of balance. She is the third child of Ting and Tang. Ning is the older twin of Nang. Ning represents efficiency, good-fortune, and justice. Her female children have been lost to a millenia of spiritual evolution similar to Jing, Jang and Nang. Nang is the spirit of chaos. He is the fourth and final child of Ting and Tang. Nang is the younger twin of Ning. Nang represents gluttony, misfortune, and corruption. Like the rest of his siblings, his children have been lost to spiritual evolution. Ning and Nang are spirits that interfere with the every day lives of Sullustans. They are constantly battling each other in an attempt to gain strength and favor with their parents and older siblings. Often, Ning and Nang act as minor agents of their older siblings. Ancestor Worship Due to their strong matriarchal connections, Sullustans pay particular care to their ancestors. Supposedly, the spirits allow the clan's ancestors to inhabit the galaxy to protect their descendants. These ancestors often act as messengers from the spirits or guides to the head of a clan. However, Sullustans of all stations and levels of clan heirarchy have reported visits from their ancestors. To disappoint or dishonor your ancestors is a huge socio-cultural pressure. The most spiritually attuned Sullustans would commit suicide upon conducting an act that would be seen as dishonoring the ancestors. The ritual suicide is considered an act of atonement to save the clan face. A number of theologians note that ancestor worship is a relatively new phenomena in the Sullustan ideology. A number of them attempt to explain it as a compensation for the loss of so many lesser spirits or the children of Jing/Jang and Ning/Nang. However, there is a tradition of extremely important leaders or individuals becoming non-pantheonic spirits. Force Concepts The strong polytheistic spiritualism of the vast majority of the Sullustan race causes them to have a different view of the Force than most of the rest of the galaxy and the Jedi Order. The Force is called the "Spirit's Blessed Curse" in Sullustese. Sullustans that are attuned to the force are called "Sensitives" or the "Spirit's Messengers." The vast majority of the "Sensitives" seem to enjoy normal lives. Many of them work in the natural environs of Sullust. The creation of the Yuto Pee'a Park and Avuusid Falls is often directly credited to conservationists that were attuned to the Force. This has some merit as the terra of Sullust isn't particularly suited to such immaculately lush forests and glens. Lightsaber History Lightsabers are rarely produced by Sullustan "Sensitives." Most attuned choose not to build their lightsabers as defense of the world's people is not seen as their calling. However, there are a number of reports that indicate it was Sullustan engineers attuned to the force that helped produce the first lightsabers, or at least the power cells and basic design. These reports are often perpetuated by SoroSuub engineers that take particular pride in the fact these reports might be true. Jedi Order Sullustan Jedi are rare, but not unheard of. Sullustan Jedi are not normally known as skilled swordsmen, but adept diplomats and negotiators. Category:Species